The second half starts with a very young and fresh feeling. I like that! Not the lyric by itself, but the sounding. "Shit / I digress / where to start?"
1:02.19min. | v [video=youtube;aRcAvsZgjXA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRcAvsZgjXA[/video] 0:03min.
Mike's always been like that. He discovered and became obsessed with "IMMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER" literally like four years after everyone else stopped doing it.
As soon as I saw the name Hot Karl, I immediately thought of the last part of Deftones' Pink Cellphone
Mike sure loves battle raps, but he's never actually battling anyone. Who is he talking to? Anyways, Mike's verse is the most interesting here. The rest are really cringy and wack. Hot Karl, whose rap name sounds like some gross sex act and sounds like a 2nd rate Eminem. "Bodied by a singer from a band that did rap-metal" I liked this though
Well, battle rap tracks and diss rap songs are in league but different. Having a braggadocio battle song doesn't mean you have to be name dropping people you hate. I mean look at 90% of Eminem songs in the last couple of years. "Welcome 2 Hell", "Rap God" etc. All battle rap style tracks but isn't necessarily a diss track to anyone in particular. Intuition is a pretty dope emcee though.
I like it. Mike has some nice lines. The Damn Daniel bar is pretty wack but the rap metal one was hilariously self aware. Overall it was fun. Hot Karl has the worst verse. Mike and Intuition had nice verses. Then again, I'm biased as hell. I like Mike can work with big rappers like Pusha T, Common, etc. and remain in touch with the independent hip hop scene like Intuition, the Visionaries, etc. I really like a light hearted track. It's nice to hear Mike deliver a nice verse, especially one that isn't so aggressive needlessly or one that's a bit to pandering to emo kids. Just a 16 bar verse of irony and fun. Refreshing to say the least.
Jay-Z just made the "Damn Daniel" reference on "Drug Dealers Anonymous" with Pusha-T, but Mike gets shit for it when he's obviously screwing around. Geez, people.
Yeah true. Jay isn't exactly off the hook for using outdated memes but he flipped it pretty cleverly. Mike just name dropped and that's.....pretty much the bar. Still I'm not hating on Shinoda by any means. Hell, just one line that's kinda eh to me. The rest of it is fantastic and if we get more verses like this on the new album, I'll be satisfied. Just a minor (heh) critique. Also, unpopular opinion, but a Mike Shinoda verse in 2016 is better than a Jay Z verse in 2016. *shrugs*
Each to their own. I think he must've read this thread, haha Maybe he says "title" and it's supposed to be a homophone, I'm not sure
This take of Mike is much better. Feels much more casual and fun, which is what the song needed. I know people might think that's stupid of me to say but it kind of felt like Mike was rehearsing on the original version. Chorus still is mediocre but the instrumental is not bad. Mike's verse is also the most interesting, without being biased. The other verses kind of make me feel like I'm listening to 90s hip hop
I like The Black Album and American Gangster for what it's worth. Once ya get lazy with lyrics like "Cake. Cake cake cake. Look at my neck, I got a karat cake." Jay is still dope but he is undeniably lazy with his lyrics and rhyme patterns now. I give Mike props for trying to experiment with his flow
Yeah, but that's a different song - I could say the same of Shinoda by bringing up songs like "Burn It Down", "Lies Greed Misery" or "Petrified". Ultimately, even Jay's worst is better than Shinoda's best, IMO.
Yeah but I'm talking last couple of years. Lies Greed Misery and Burn it Down are pretty much same as level as Jay now imo. If this was 2005, then yes, Jay was much better than Mike in any way. Of course, it's opinion but I'd disagree with the last sentence. Jay is a far more consistent and better rapper than Shinoda overall though. That's definitely undeniable.
I can't say I'm sure why you chose BID and LGM as examples for a "not well written" song by Mike. I don't remember anything all that repetitive or poorly written with Mike's verses in those songs. If anything, the choruses are a little too simplistic and repetitive in those songs, but I always thought the verses were well written, especially with the symbolism and imagery.
Those verses are ok for an LP song but if we put Mike side to side with some of the top MCs right now, he wouldn't fair well. He's strong as a musician and songwriter but as a rapper he's always been mediocre to average imo. To his credit though, he's gotten better over the years - though I know most people would disagree with that. He used to sound really robotic and rehearsed in early LP albums. He sounds much more natural and free now.